


Uninvited Guests

by the_scarlet_01



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck Goes Missing, Everyone thinks Buck is dead, FireFam worries, M/M, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22191568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_scarlet_01/pseuds/the_scarlet_01
Summary: Based on the prompt: Buck is devastated by the team shunning him after he comes back. The lawsuit was actually a means to distract the awful attorney who was targeting the team. One day Buck doesn’t come to work, concerned the team goes to see him and are horrified to find Buck’s place wrecked and blood all over the bathroom. They think Buck’s been murdered. A whole month goes by before Buck shows up at Chris’ birthday alive, tearful, and with US Marshals flanking him. They have a hell of a story to tell.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 16
Kudos: 535





	Uninvited Guests

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Wolvesta for beta reading!

Buck had never felt as miserable as he did right now. He had begged his team to forgive him when he’d been allowed to return to work, but they didn’t accept his apologies. They did the opposite, they hated him. They stopped talking to him, stopped including him, and apparently stopped trusting him. It hurt Buck horribly. He didn’t blame them. He was lying to them after all. He just wished he could explain what was happening, especially now. His time was running out. He figured he had a day or two left. He wished they’d forgive him, especially with what he knew was coming. As Buck ended his shift of being yelled at, belittled, and assigned horrible chores, he changed his clothes and grabbed his bag. On the way, he stopped to look at everything one last time, tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” Buck whispered. “Goodbye.” He sighed and went out to his car, letting the tears fall as he drove home. His heart hurt and he missed the family he’d formed there. He just hoped they’d forgive him someday.

Everything changed for the firehouse a few days later. Eddie had been at work a whole fifteen minutes and he was already annoyed. Buck was late for work. Eddie couldn’t believe the youngest firefighter was that ridiculous. Buck had told them all he’d wanted was to get back to work, but he couldn’t even be bothered to come in on time. When Buck still wasn’t there for the first call, and no one had heard from him, every member of the 118 started to get uneasy. Bobby called Buck several times. Each call went straight to voicemail. Chimney had called Maddie to see if she had heard from him. Maddie hadn’t heard from him in days. Eddie tried to text and call but got nothing back. He even called Carla to see if she’d heard from him. Carla said she hadn’t heard from Buck since he called to check on her and Christopher the other day. But Carla did say one thing that made Eddie nervous. Carla had said Buck had wanted to FaceTime with Christopher, for the first time in a while. Initially, Eddie was a bit angry about Carla agreeing to the video call, but she wasn’t having any of that. She made sure she put Eddie in his place. Christopher didn’t start whatever petty drama was going on between Buck and Eddie. 

As the boy’s caretaker, she wasn’t about to let him be upset on her watch. If Eddie wanted to be petty fine, he could do it on his own time. She was damn sure going to do what was best for Christopher, it was her job after all. If that meant making Christopher smile by letting him talk to Buck about what he’d done at school that day or some planned weekend sleepover, then she was sure as hell going to do it. She also told Eddie that something felt off about this particular call. It wasn’t just Buck wanting to hear about Christopher’s day. It felt more like a final goodbye to her. The call had made Christopher happy, just like all the past calls. She had tried not to worry too much about it. Carla promised that if she heard from Buck, she’d let him know. 

Eddie told the others what Carla had told him about the strange video call. Something was wrong, they just knew it. After their next call, they decided to stop by Buck’s apartment. Eddie was about to use his spare key when he noticed scratches on the door and around the lock. Dread filling him when he saw exposed wood around the door frame. He tried the door handle and he didn’t even have to twist it to open it. The slightest pressure and it just opened. He rushed into the apartment shouting for Buck, the rest of the team not far behind him. Hen gasped as she took in how wrong the apartment looked. The kitchen chairs were knocked over. There was broken glass all over the kitchen. Buck’s stuff was everywhere.

“Buck!” Eddie shouted as he ran up the stairs, the bed was unmade and several Buck’s belongings littered the floor. The broken picture frames worrying Eddie the most. Eddie hurried to the bathroom and he couldn’t have stopped the shout that escaped them if he tried. The scene that he found was gruesome. Eddie stumbled out of the bathroom, his knees buckling. He didn’t even care that his hand had come down hard on one of the broken picture frames. He could hardly feel the glass that was now digging into his palm. It was nothing like the blood-soaked mess in the bathroom. The others rushed to his side. Bobby looked into the bathroom and felt the blood drain from his face. He grabbed the radio on his shoulder and radioed dispatch, telling them to send the police, fast. He called his wife when they’d told him police were on the way. He told Athena to get there quick and something was very wrong. He stood there staring at the blood-stained walls and floor of the bathroom, mentally estimating how much blood covered the surfaces. Too much, there was too much blood. He prayed that it wasn’t Buck’s, that it was someone else’s blood. If anything had happened to Buck, Bobby’d never forgive himself. 

Uniformed police officers came in the open door. Bobby called them to the bathroom. The officers immediately called for backup and a crime scene unit. Athena caught the end of the request as she entered the building. Her hurried pace turning into a sprint when she heard it. The look on her husband’s face when she reached Buck’s floor filled her with dread. First responders were starting to fill the hallway from the elevator and stairs, all the way to Buck’s door. 

“What happened?” Athena asked as she reached him. 

“I…I wish I knew,” Bobby admitted. His eyes are glassy with tears as he spoke, “He didn’t show up for work, we got here and…the place was trashed and there’s so much blood. He’s gone.”

“Gone, gone or…” Athena asked.

“I don’t know.” Bobby’s voice shook. “He’s not here.” Athena nodded, squeezed his hand and headed towards the taped off the apartment. Eddie was sitting on the floor just outside the apartment with his head in his hand, one of which was wrapped in a bandage. Hen knelt in front of him, her medical kit half-open beside her. They both looked up as she approached. Both of their eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot from crying. Eddie’s chest was heaving.

“Hey, ‘Thena.” Hen said as she stood up. 

“He okay?” Athena asked quietly gesturing to Eddie.

“Not really, none of us are.” Hen answered honestly. “He just happened to be the first to see it all and got a bit of glass in his hand. Took us a good 20 minutes to get him to calm down and quit bleeding all over everything and contaminating the...crime scene.” Athena looked over to see the man in question with his palms pressed to his eyes, clearly trying to control his breathing. Her heart broke for the guy. They all knew he and Buck had been insanely close before the lawsuit situation. She looked around and noticed that Buck wasn’t the only one not there. 

“Where’s Chim?” The sergeant asked.

“He went to get Maddie, this…” Hen gestured to the apartment. “This isn’t something for her to hear over the phone or through dispatch.” 

“Understandable.” Athena nodded. “I’ll be back.” She said before ducking under the tape and going into the apartment, she took in the scene. She forced herself to analyze it like it was any other crime scene. She grimaced when she made it to the bathroom. “Oh Buckaroo, what did you get yourself into now?” She asked softly. She returned to the hall, making sure the officers made sure no one touched anything. She moved to stand beside Hen. “In your professional opinion, could someone survive that?“ She was careful to keep her voice quiet. They didn’t need Eddie losing it. 

“If it was all from…one person, it might be possible but…” Hen refused to admit that it was most likely Buck’s. 

“If that person was on blood thinners?” Athena forced herself to ask.

The paramedic’s lips went into a tight line like she was trying to keep herself together. Hen shook her head. Athena had to close her eyes and count to ten. Why did horrible things keep happening to Buck? The elevator dinged and everyone in the hallway made room for CSU to get to the apartment. Athena helped collect statements from the team. She worried even more when Bobby told her about Buck’s call with Christopher. She’d have to call Carla herself. Find out exactly what the woman knew. Athena had the officers canvassing the building to see if any of the neighbors had noticed anything unusual. Athena wasn’t sure how long it had been when a shout drew all of their eyes to the elevator.

“Evan!” Maddie hurried towards her brother’s apartment. Tears streaming down her face as she called out for her brother. Athena caught her before Maddie could potentially contaminate the crime scene. 

“Maddie,” Athena said when Maddie tried to get around her to the apartment. “I know this is hard. We all love your brother, but I can’t let you in there. CSU needs to work so that we can find him.” Maddie tried to look through the door. “Maddie you don’t need to see that, okay? We’re going to find him, but you don’t need that image in your brain.” Maddie looked frantically around the hall. Her eyes met Eddie’s. She dropped down beside him. 

“Please, Eddie. Tell me you know something. You’re his best friend, he tells you everything.” She noticed how Eddie grimaced. “Eddie…”

“We…we haven’t talked in weeks,” Eddie admitted.

“What do you mean? You’re his best friend.” Maddie repeated. Eddie shook his head, his eyes focused on his hands. The thumb of his good hand pressing down hard on his injured palm, he tried to focus on that pain.

“Maddie…” Chim put a hand on her shoulder. She looked around, noticing how wrecked Bobby looked and how Hen wouldn’t meet her eye. 

“What aren’t you guys telling me?” Maddie said. 

“Please, Maddie…” Chim said. Maddie shoved his hand off her shoulder. 

“What happened?” 

“We didn’t…if we would have known…” Chim tried to say.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Maddie shouted. 

Athena turned to her husband. “Bobby, what’s going on?” That was when it all came out. How they’d been treating Buck like garbage. How Buck had been miserable since he came back to the team. Bobby told them everything.

“HE LOVED YOU!” Maddie shouted at Eddie. He shrank in on himself even more and letting out a shaky sob as he did. “HE LOVED ALL OF YOU!” She looked to Bobby, then Hen, and lastly to her boyfriend. Athena had a hand on Maddie’s shaking shoulder. “HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!” Maddie looked back at Bobby. “You!” She glared, her voice lowered, but her words were just as cutting. “You are supposed to watch out for him, lead him, protect him.” Maddie let out an angry sob. “And you let this happen.” 

“I am so sorry, Maddie,” Bobby said.

“I don’t want your apologies!” Maddie shouted. “I want my brother! He’s all I have left…” Some of the fight seemed to leave Maddie with those words. Athena needed to do something, so she had one of the officers take Maddie outside for air. 

“Athena,” Bobby started to say something.

“Don’t,” The sergeant held her hand up to stop her husband. “This,” she gestured to the apartment. “May not be your fault, but you are not off the hook, Captain. Right now, I’m going to make sure that the woman who may have just lost the only real family she has left, has someone,” She looked at Chimney, “Sorry, Chim but I don’t think you can help on this one. I think you three need to go back to the station and take a good long time to think about what you have done. Because, if something truly horrible has happened to that boy, it’s going to be something you’re going to have to live with for the rest of your lives.” 

The rest of the day was painfully quiet as a dark gloom seemed to hand over them. Bobby tried to focus on anything but what might have happened to Buck. He made lunch, but no one really had an appetite. He didn’t blame them. He’d just pack it up for the night shift. Eddie spent most of the time in the gym until his muscles were straining and he couldn’t keep it up. He took a shower and wrapped his hand in fresh bandages, adding a few to the bruised knuckles from overworking the punching bag. When none of that helped clear the horrible image of his best friend’s blood-stained bathroom and the fear that Buck was gone forever was a crushing weight on his chest. Eddie might never get apologize for being an absolute jackass. And he sees that now. He had been a fool trying to push Buck out of his life, out of his heart. Now Buck might truly be gone, and the last thing Eddie had said to his best friend was something cruel. He was suddenly grateful that Carla hadn’t let him completely cut Buck out of Christopher’s life. At least Christopher had gotten some sort of a goodbye. 

Days off for the 118 began to be filled with hanging flyers and asking for anyone with information to step forward. The lab results came back and confirmed that the blood had indeed been Evan Buckley’s. That had hit them all very hard. Buck had been on blood thinners. That would explain the amount of blood, but what scared them now is if he had somehow managed to survive losing that much blood, odds are he didn't have access to the thinners now. That could mean they could lose him to another clot. That was painful for them to think about. The detectives had followed a few leads, but nothing ever seemed to go anywhere. Shifts were getting increasingly difficult. One particular shift Eddie had nearly got himself arrested when Taylor Kelly showed up to ask about Buck. She wanted to do a full story on the missing man. Eddie had lost his temper as she’d asked increasingly personal questions and the implied that the story was more about the fall of a hero than an appeal to find a missing person. After that, the weeks dragged on painfully slow.

A month had gone by since Buck went missing. They all struggled, but no one seemed to take it as hard as Eddie did. Eddie had thought to have to console Christopher after his mother had died had been hard, but telling him that Buck was missing, and probably never coming back had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to tell his son. His son had now lost two fundamental people in his life. The first couple of weeks had been hell. His son cried out for his Buck every night. Christopher saw his therapist at least once a week again. The therapist had told Eddie to try and find some version of normalcy and stability for his son. Eddie was trying, he really was. It was just that Buck had woven his way so deeply in their lives that even Christopher’s teachers were upset to hear about what had happened. Carla had, again, been a godsend. She helped his son grieve, just as she had helped him before. Abby had flown back to LA when Carla had managed to get a hold of her. Even Ali had dropped by the firehouse to check in with the team. Bobby had been talking to the chief about setting up a memorial and officially retiring Buck’s badge, but Maddie had been furious at that idea. Buck was missing. Buck had survived so much. She refused to let them write him off yet. She had also done her best to spend time with Christopher. Her brother had loved that boy more than anything or anyone in the world. Buck would want her to help look after him. Instead of a memorial, she suggested they find something to celebrate, mainly Christopher’s birthday. She suggested boosting the team’s morale and celebrating something that Buck would want them to go all out for. So the chief agrees and allowed them to throw a party for Christopher at the firehouse. 

That was how Eddie found himself watching as Christopher and his friends played inside the firehouse. The trucks had been pulled out so the bay could be set up for the party. He loved seeing his son with his friends. Christopher was actually beginning to smile again. His smile didn’t always reach his eyes, but Eddie could hope they’d get through it all. But both their hearts were still broken. Eddie missed his best friend every damn day. Eddie walked over, as he often did, and brushed the dust off of Buck’s helmet. No one had the heart to clear out Buck’s gear or his locker. He missed him so damn much. He’d come to terms with the fact he loved his best friend as more than a friend, some time ago. He was just about to hang up the helmet back when he heard his son’s voice. 

“Bucky?” 

Eddie’s spun around so fast he was shocked he wasn’t dizzy. His grip on the helmet slipping at the sight before him, less than twenty feet from where he stood was his best friend, the one everyone thought was dead, kneeling down as he pulled Christopher tight against his chest. Christopher’s face buried in the man’s neck. The helmet clattered to the ground. The clattering noise drawing blue eyes to meet his, Eddie let out a shaky gasp. The older man’s knees threatening to buckle, much like they did when he’d stumbled out of Buck’s blood-soaked bathroom. He gripped the edge of the locker to stay upright. 

“Eddie?” Buck’s brow was furrowed. The younger man attempted to pull away from Christopher to stand up, earning a soft sob from the boy. Buck quickly got to his feet and scooped Christopher back up. Eddie watched as Buck whispered softly to Christopher. And that was it. That was all Eddie needed to see. His feet were moving before he even knew what he was doing, as Eddie hurried over to them. Eddie’s hand reaching up to caress his best friend’s face to make sure he was real, that he really had come back to them. 

“You’re alive,” Eddie said in amazement.

“Yeah, I uh…I know I have a lot to explain but…” Eddie just stared at him as Buck’s sentence trailed off. “Listen, Eddie, I’m sorry, but I just…I couldn’t miss his birthday.” Eddie slid his hand to the back of Buck’s neck and into the younger man’s hair. “Eddie…” Buck’s voice was quiet. 

“Shut up.” Eddie grinned and kissed him. They pulled back when someone cleared their throat beside them. They looked up to see Athena standing there. 

“Sorry to break up this happy reunion, but I have a lot of questions,” Athena said, eyeing the two men that had followed Buck into the firehouse. “Especially about your new friends.” She gestured at the men.

Eddie followed Athena’s gesture and saw the men. Eddie had been so caught up in having Buck back he hadn’t even noticed them. His brow furrowed as he stepped back, looking between the men and Buck.

Buck’s grip on Christopher tightened as Eddie took in the situation. He hoped that the father would let him hold Christopher just a little bit longer. He’d missed the boy so much. “Guys, I promise, I’ll explain, but after the party, okay?” 

The sound of glass breaking drew their attention. “BUCK?!” They all looked up towards the balcony to see Bobby, already hurrying down the stairs. Eddie smiled as he practically pried his son away from the boy's hero. Eddie promising the boy that Buck wasn’t going to vanish if he let go. They both missed the pained look in Buck’s eyes as he took the boy from him. Eddie smiling as he felt his son’s sobs slowing down. Eddie had just managed to get Christopher into his arms when Bobby reached them.

“Hey, Cap, I wanted to tell you guys, I really did but-“ Buck started to explain to Bobby, but was cut off when Bobby hugged him tightly. 

“I thought we’d lost you, kid,” Bobby said. “I’m so sorry, Buck. I am sorry.”

“It’s okay, Bobby.” Buck hugged him back. “I’m still here.”

“How?” Bobby asked.

“I’ll explain, after the party, to everyone all at once,” Buck assured him.

Bobby pulled back when he heard a gasp and a sob. Buck found his pseudo-father figures embrace gone and replaced with a bone-crushing hug that was very familiar. 

“Mads,” Buck closed his eyes and leaned into his sister’s embrace. “I missed you so much. I wish I could have called. I really did.”

“Everyone thought you were dead,” Maddie said. “But I didn’t believe it. I just knew you were alive.”

“Thanks for not giving up on me, Mads.” Buck kissed his sister’s forehead.

“Love you, little brother.” 

“Love you too, big sister.” Before he knew it he was wrapped up in a giant group hug. Buck couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, okay.” Buck grinned. “As nice as this is, we have a party to attend, and broken glass to clean up.” He added once everyone had let go. “Broken glass isn’t exactly the party favor these parents want their kids bringing home.”

The rest of the party had a much different feeling. Everyone actually felt like celebrating. Buck gladly accepted hugs and food from Carla, Isabel, and Pepa when he saw them. Carla scolding him for tricking her, she also told him about how even Abby had come back after he vanished. Buck had been surprised by that and promised to give her and Ali a call later. But for now, he wanted to catch up with his family. She congratulated him about finally getting his man, laughing at the red tint in his cheeks as she teased him about the very public kiss. Carla also teased Eddie as he watched Buck playing with the kids, not even trying to hide the look of pure admiration and love on his face. Eddie didn’t care. He was just happy to watch as Christopher sat firmly on his Buck's shoulders, laughing. He felt relieved as he saw his son’s smile finally reaching his eyes. Christopher never straying far from Buck’s side thought the rest of the party. He'd shown every gift off to Buck with pride. Eddie had overheard Christopher tell Abuela that he didn’t know what to wish for. His wish had already come true. His Buck was back. Eddie could see the way Buck had practically melted at the comment, a bright smile taking over his features as he watched Christopher blow out the candles on his cake. When the excitement died down and the team cleaned up the party, Buck sat on one of the couches in the loft, a sleeping Christopher in his lap. One of the marshals had left, the other sat at the kitchen island, drinking coffee and talking with one of the firefighters from the night shift. When the party had been cleaned up and the trucks returned to the right spots in the bay, everyone made their way up to the loft. The night shift was trickling in to take over were snagging party leftovers. Buck looked at his team as they gathered, looking from face to face as they joined him. “I guess you guys want to know what happened, right?” Buck asked. 

“Why don’t we head to the conference room,” Bobby said. Abuela had stayed so that she could watch Christopher while they all got the explanation they had been waiting for. Once everyone had gathered in the conference room Buck went over and had a quick hushed conversation with the marshal. The second marshal returned with Chief Miranda Williams. Bobby managed to catch the chief before she could get too far into the room. 

“Chief, did you know about this?” Bobby stares wide-eyed at his superior.

Chief Williams sighs but nods. “I’m sorry, Bobby. I know this has been a hard time for everyone, especially for you and your team, but I promise it will all make sense soon. You’ll understand why we didn’t have much choice in the matter.” She moved to join Buck and the Marshals. Bobby went to sit by his wife.

“I bet you all want an explanation,” Chief Williams said once she had everyone’s attention. “I know some of you might be upset right now,” her eyes move from Bobby’s to Eddie’s to Maddie’s. “And your feelings are understandable, but the information you are about to hear will require you to sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure document, anyone not willing to do so can leave now.” When no one budged she nodded. “I figured as much.” She waited as the marshal that was beside Buck handed out a form. They gave them all a chance to look over the document. “I know to ask you to sign something like this is asking a lot of you right now, but Firefighter Buckley and I have both reviewed the document, as well as the LAFD lawyers and there aren’t any tricks here. It’s just saying that while the case these Marshals are about to present to you will remain confidential until a verdict has been handed down.” She waited until they had all signed the forms. She looked over them quickly before nodding. “Thank you. First off, let me introduce you all to Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Jacob Crosby,” She gestured to the Marshal she had walked in with. “And this,” she gestured to the Marshal that had handed out the forms, “Is Deputy US Marshal Ben Pearce. I’m going to turn the floor over to Crosby now.” She said, stepping aside and letting him take her place.

“Thank you, Chief Williams,” Crosby says. “Our office was contacted when the LA Court system realized they had a problem that extended beyond the local system. Now, we cannot go into too much detail about the specifics of the case, but as part of the agreement with Mr. Buckley, as well as with Chief Williams, we are here to fill you in on as much as we can. Now, their part, in this case, had mainly to do with a lawyer by the name of Chase Mackey, I’m sure you all remember him,” Crosby continued despite a few grumbled comments about the ambulance-chasing lawyer, “Well, he was just part of a larger network of lawyers that had been targeting first responders and Good Samaritans and going about it in a less than ethical way. We’d met with both the police chief and Chief Williams when we’d been called in. We’d been attempting to assist some local investigators when we received a phone call from Chief Williams about the potential lawsuit against the department. That was when we met with Mr. Buckley.” He gestured towards Buck. Buck was clearly uneasy being on the spot and listening to the story he knew ended with him having to lie to everyone he loved. He was hunched over a bit, balled fists stuffed into his pockets, and his furrowed gaze was fixed high on the wall above their heads. He was trying to avoid eye contact. Crosby continued, “He was quick to agree to assist us. He agreed to keep the lawsuit going to help us gather evidence against Mackey and his associates. Mr. Buckley was told to inform him of certain things.” Buck’s back went ramrod straight and his shoulders filled with tension at the Marshal’s words. “Things that we understand some of you were not happy to have revealed. We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that this may have caused, but we needed to know what level these lawyers were willing to stoop to and document it. Mr. Buckley was, to be honest, but also clear that he really wasn’t comfortable telling Mr. Mackey all this information and never explicitly permitted the lawyer to use any of the information in depositions. Now, you may wonder why we didn’t use fake facts. This idea was considered but unfortunately, we were worried he’d try to double-check certain aspects of the story and could not risk compromising the entire case.”

“For the record, some of you might have been upset, but none more so than this guy right here.” Marshal Pearce clapped a hand on Buck’s shoulder and added, “He fought so hard to do anything else. He didn’t want to hurt his friends. Unfortunately, we didn’t really have any other options.”

Crosby cleared his throat. “As I was saying, not only did Mr. Buckley record his encounters with Mackey and his associates, but he also utilized his position as Fire Marshal to connect with other teams and see which teams had been targeted, or even harassed by Mackey and his associates. He was a huge asset when it came to assembling a case. To maintain Mr. Buckley’s cover Chief Williams and the administrative branch of the LAFD agreed to negotiate a settlement. Although we made it clear that neither Mr. Buckley nor the LAFD was to agree on a settlement, we wanted to get as much evidence as we could. 

Unfortunately, someone in Mackey’s organization became suspicious of Mr. Buckley, and for his safety we had him drop the case, which would mean he wouldn’t be able to use any of the information he had given the lawyer against you without violating attorney/client privilege laws and would not damage the department’s reputation. With Chief William's agreement, Mr. Buckley was to return to work since the suit was over. Regrettably, the action of dropping the case, and Mr. Buckley turning down what Mackey was to believe a settlement of millions of dollars, angered the lawyer. Deputy Marshal Pearce was made aware by a Special Deputy Marshal that was undercover that Mackey had put out a hit on Mr. Buckley. We knew we needed to act quickly. Within the week we had everything in place. Mr. Buckley was taken into the Witness Protection Program and his disappearance was staged. We needed Mackey to believe that he was dead and no evidence would ever be found. As the LAPD constructed a case around the staged incident, we worked with the chief of police and the district attorney to continue to compile our case. Just over a week ago warrants were issued for Mackey’s arrest and the complete search of his home and office. He was arrested six days ago. Now as you can suspect from a lowlife ambulance chaser like Mackey was eager to cut himself a deal. He has now agreed to provide evidence against the larger organization he is part of in exchange for lesser charges. Thankfully, once that plea was official, we were able to contact Mr. Buckley, and much to his relief we were able to bring him home today. That covers everything?” He looked between the others standing around him. Pearce and Williams nodded. 

Buck stayed silent. “Great, now as Chief Williams said, you have all agreed to keep this information silent until not only the charges against Mackey are settled completely, and that means this does not leave this room until the larger case against Mackey’s associates is settled. We’ll contact Mr. Buckley and Chief Williams when that occurs. The US Marshal Services and the US Department of Justice appreciate your cooperation. Thank you.” With that Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Jacob Crosby left. Deputy Marshal pulled Buck aside to give him a few last-minute details before following his supervisor out.

“Thank you, everyone,” Chief Williams said, “I trust you guys to keep this in house. If you have any questions, I ask that you come to my office directly.” She turned to where Bobby and Athena sat. “Captain Nash, may I have a word with you?”

“Of course.” Bobby nodded and led her to his office. He gestured to his desk chair as he took one of the other chairs in front of his desk. She was his boss after all. “Make yourself at home.”

“Thank you,” the chief smiled and took the offered seat. “I’m sorry I had to keep this from you. Since the lawsuit was supposed to be against you and the department I wanted to include you in on the situation, but the Marshals insisted that it remain strictly need to know.”

“And they didn’t think I needed to know,” Bobby said.

“Exactly,” Williams nodded. “Now I wish I would have clued you in, would have saved you guys a lot of heartaches. Especially, Buckley, lying to you all tore that kid up.” She sighed. “You should know how upset he was about everything. He really didn’t want to use that information against you all.” She shook her head. “Marshals had to talk him down after that little scene Diaz made in the grocery store. Buckley had just wanted to see you guys after that awful deposition. They told him it was a bad idea, but you know how Evan Buckley is.”

Bobby chuckled. “Yeah, he’s not exactly the greatest at following orders if he’s worried about his friends.” 

“He wanted to end it then,” Williams said with a sad smile. “Especially when he found out that the Diaz boy was upset, but it wasn’t his, or even my call to make at that point. I was hoping things would improve once he dropped the case and he returned to work.” The chief put her elbows on the desk and leaned forward. “Which leads me to the reason I asked to speak with you privately, I was very concerned when I was informed of how Buckley was treated upon his return. The Marshal’s realized their error of not including you, but by then they were dealing with threats against Buckley, and they needed to keep an even tighter grip on who knew what. I understand that from the outside, it would have looked that Buckley was working against the department and might have turned against his coworkers and friends.”

“But he was just trying to protect us.” Bobby’s shoulders slumped. 

“Which makes the behavior of members of the 118 I was informed of even more concerning,” Williams said. “I’m sorry to say this but Captain Bobby Nash, this is the only warning I will give you. You need to get your house in order. I cannot have personal issues jeopardizing the safety of a firefighter, or worse, the public. Do not think I haven’t noticed how he has lost weight and is clearly suffering from sleep deprivation. I may not have personally witnessed how distraught Evan Buckley has been, and it only got worse while he was away, but I am very aware of it. He has been granted paid leave for the next week so that he can settle back in and get some rest. I expect him to be treated differently when he returns this time, Captain Nash. Evan Buckley agreed to help protect his fellow first responders. I expect him to be treated as a respected member of this team. My staff and I will be checking in.” With that, she excused herself and headed home. 

As soon as Bobby and Chief Williams left, all eyes turned to Buck. Buck didn’t even get a chance to say anything before his sister was there and pulling him into a hug. “I missed you so much, Evan.” 

“I missed you too, Mads, I wanted to call you every day. I’m pretty sure I Facebook stalked you,” Buck laughed as he pulled away but took his sister’s hand in his, squeezing it to reassure her that he was there. “All of you. It was so hard to not like or comment on anything.” 

“I’m just glad you came home,” Maddie admitted, squeezing his hand back.

“I’m glad I didn’t miss the party.” Buck grinned and blinked back tears as he looked up at the rest of his team and Athena. “Guys, I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you all, but they wouldn’t let me. I totally get it if you guys hate me. I lied to you. I know I let you guys down, but I just hope-“ 

“Stop, Just…stop,” Eddie said, standing so he right in front of Buck. “We thought you were dead, for a month.” Maddie grinning as she stepped aside. She may not be happy with Eddie after everything that had happened, but she knew Buck loved him. She knew they needed a moment. 

“I know, Eddie.” Buck frowned. “I’m sorry, I hated that you guys didn’t know I was okay. I hated it. I hated myself. All I could think of was how Christopher was probably even more upset. And how I wasn’t there to help you guys and that I wasn’t there to watch your back. I mean I promised to have your back, and-“

Eddie cut him off with a hug. “I failed you first. God, Buck. I should have known, I should have trusted you, especially after the tsunami and everything. I pushed you away first. I mean the shit I said to you.” Eddie pulled away to get a better look at Buck’s face. “I’m sorry, Buck.”

“You didn’t know, Eddie,” Buck said but he could still feel tears in his eyes.

“I was so shitty to you,” Eddie said.

“We all were.” Hen said, nudging Eddie out of the way so she could hug Buck. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Buckaroo.” She smiled when she pulled away. “And your boy here,” she gestured to Eddie. “Was inconsolable when we found that bloody scene your friends left for us to find. Maybe have them ease off the broken glass. It was hard enough getting him to breathe let alone let us get the glass out of his hand.” Both Buck and Eddie winced.

“She isn’t lying, Eddie was a disaster.” Chim nodded. “Then again we all took it hard.”

“You should have seen Bobby,” Athena said. “I mean, he deserved to feel bad for giving you a hard time when you came back, but he was a mess.” She squeezed Buck’s arm. “He kept saying he’d lost another son.” She smiled sadly. “And we thought we had, but I’m glad you’re back, Buckaroo.” Athena grinned. “But we are going to have a loooong chat about this tomorrow, got it?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Buck nodded. 

The small group talked a little longer until Bobby came back. Athena ushered everyone out so that Bobby could have a moment with his pseudo-son.

Before Buck could say anything Bobby hugged him. Buck hugged him back. “I’m sorry, kid,” Bobby said. “I messed up. You didn’t deserve to be treated the way you were. I didn’t realize how big a mistake I had made until we found your place a mess and the blood. All I could think about was the fact you were out there hurt, or worse, and I couldn’t help you. The thought that you were out there and I didn’t know if I’d ever been able to you how I’d been selfish going over your head without talking to you. Buck, if I had just talked to you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Buck said. “If you had, then I wouldn’t have been able to help them take down Mackey.” 

Bobby shook his head. “You shouldn’t have had to do that alone. I know you and the chief wanted to clue me in. I’m just glad you had her on your side. She is determined to make sure you settle back in properly.”

“Bobby, I don’t know what Chief told you but-“ Buck started to tell him but Bobby cut him off.

“She told me to get my house in order,” Bobby admitted. “I messed this up, Buck. She pointed out that none of us had really noticed you weren’t looking very much like your usual self. I can see what she means now. I was just afraid. I’d already almost lost you three times, and I was scared of losing you again on a call. So I tried to push you away to keep you safe, and I nearly lost you again. I really don’t want to lose you. You’re like a son to me. I’m not sure I could survive that again.” Bobby admitted.

“You didn’t lose me, and I know you wouldn’t have let it go on forever. I knew I just needed to stick it out, but then Mackey put that hit out and I couldn’t even say goodbye.”

“Buck, it never should have happened. I put you at risk by ignoring you and letting the team treat you poorly. You could have gotten hurt or me sidelining you meant we were a man down and if someone got hurt on a call, well that would have been my fault. That would be something I would have to live with. All because I was too afraid to admit I messed up and was failing to do my job. Thankfully Chief Williams just gave me a warning. She’s giving me a chance to fix this.”

“That’s good. I don’t know if I’d forgive myself if my lying got you fired.” Buck shook his head.

“Buck no,” Bobby corrected him. “It would have been my fault, okay?” Buck just shook his head again, earning a chuckle from Bobby.

“Let’s just agree we both did stupid things and move on,” Buck said.

“We can do that.” Bobby nodded. “So I don’t know if you know, but the chief is giving you the week off, with pay, to get rested up. You start back next week.” 

“Good,” Buck said, he smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as alone then I have been the past month.”

“Well, you aren’t alone anymore,” Bobby said. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to sent prompts to me on tumblr @sortofanobsession


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